The Natural Law Party was disqualified as of January 2, 2007 since no
candidate for statewide office for the Natural Law Party received the required 2% of the
vote at the November 7, 2006 General Election.

The Reform Party was disqualified as of December 31, 2002 since no
candidate for statewide office for the Reform Party received the required 2% of the vote
at the November 5, 2002 General Election.

CHOOSING A PARTY ON YOUR VOTERS REGISTRATION CARD

A voters political party registration will impact which ballot
he/she will receive in a Presidential Primary Election only. California has a Top Two primary.
That means, voters who are registered with a political party may only vote a Presidential Primary ballot
containing the candidates for that political party. However, voters who are registered
with no party chosen, independent or with a non-qualified political party may
select a partys ballot if that party has authorized them to cross-over and vote
their partys ballot. In the past, the Republicans have not allowed cross-over voting for
President of the United States and the local party county
central committee. The Democratic and American Independent parties have allowed cross-over
voting for all partisan contests except for the local party county central committee.

On June 8, 2010, California voters approved Proposition 14, which created the Top Two Candidates Open Primary Act.

Except for the office of U.S. President and county central committee offices, offices that used to be known as "partisan offices" (e.g., state constitutional offices, U.S. Congress, and state legislative offices) are now known as "voter-nominated" offices.

Under the Top Two Candidates Open Primary Act, all candidates running in a primary election, regardless of their party preference, will appear on a single Primary Election ballot and voters can vote for any candidate. The top two overall vote-getters – not the top vote-getter from each qualified party and anyone using the independent nomination process – will move on to the General Election.

Candidates for voter-nominated office can choose whether to list their party preference on the Primary and General Election ballots. Political parties can no longer formally nominate candidates for voter-nominated offices, so a candidate who finishes in the top two at the Primary Election and advances to the General Election is not the official nominee of any party for the office.

In General Elections which occur in November of even-numbered years,
all voters regardless of political party  will receive the same ballot
for their precinct that will contain each partys nominee for each of the partisan
offices.

When completing a voter registration affidavit either online or in
person, there is a section where you may select a political party affiliation or make
another choice. Currently, there are six qualified political parties; however, there are
always new parties attempting to qualify.

In the POLITICAL PARTY section, make sure that you have either:

Selected a qualified political party, or

Check "I Decline to State a Political Party" or

Check "Other" and either fill in the name of an unqualified
political party, or fill in the word "Nonpartisan." Some voters consider
themselves "Independent" and write that in under other. Please note, checking
the box "American Independent" will register voters with that political party
(see platform below). To register as an "Independent," voters must write the
word in the blank space provided next to "Other."

If no box is checked in this section, you will automatically be entered
as "Nonpartisan."

No person shall be entitled to vote the ballot of any political party
unless he or she has registered with that party. However, if a voter has declined to state
a qualified political party affiliation, and the political party permits it, the
unaffiliated voter may vote in the party's primary election.

The following pages contain a summary of the qualified political
parties in California complete with the partys statement and contact information.
Statements were obtained from the political parties websites or were printed in the
State Voter Pamphlet and have not been checked for accuracy by any official agency. For
more complete information, visit the political partys website.

How to Qualify a New Political Party

Qualified political parties are entitled to have candidates identified
with that political party standing for partisan offices on the ballot. In order for a
party to have such identified candidates, that party must have already qualified to
participate in the primary election or, if not qualified, must have completed all the
qualification requirements by the 135th day before the next following primary election. At
this time, the next primary election is scheduled for 2014.

Political bodies can qualify by registration or by petition for the
2010 primary election. The number of registrants or petition signers is based on a
percentage of the number of persons who will have voted at the November 2, 2010 General
Election.

To qualify a new political party by registration requires that 103,004 (1% of 10,300,392 votes cast at the last gubernatorial election) voters complete an affidavit of registration, on which they have written in the proposed
party name as the party they affiliate with. These affidavits of registration must be
completed and mailed in by the 154th day before the primary election.

To qualify a new political party by petition requires that 1,030,040 (10% of 10,300,392 votes cast at the last gubernatorial election) registered voters
sign a petition seeking the inclusion of the proposed party in the party nominating
process at the 2014 primary election. These petitions must be filed with the
several counties by the proponent in such time that the counties verify the signatures and
certify the counts to the Secretary of State who certifies the proposed partys
qualification not later than the 135th day before the primary election.

A process, allowing political bodies to become political parties, is
contained in Division 5 of the Elections Code. To begin the process of qualifying, a
political body should follow the procedure spelled out in Sections 5001 through 5003.

NOTE TO POLITICAL BODY ORGANIZERS

This guidebook is intended to provide general information about the
formation of political bodies and does not have the force and effect of law, regulation,
or rule. It is distributed with the understanding that the Santa Cruz County Clerks
Office is not rendering legal advice and this memorandum is not a substitute for legal
counsel for any person or group using it. In case of conflict, the law, regulation, or
rule will apply. Interested persons should obtain the most up-to-date information
available because of possible changes in law or procedure since the publication of this
memorandum.